New Show "Victoria" Brings in Criticism Targeting Women

A new show about the life of Queen Victoria, starring Jenna Coleman, has been ruling U.K. ratings. But with any series towing the line between history and entertainment, there is likely to be some criticism to follow.

With the history-appreciating critics pointing out some of the series' inaccuracies — the pristine eyebrows, the not-so 1830's crown, and the sexualization of characters — other commentary points toward the "feminization of culture."

"This may be grossly unfair on all those women out there — the Fawn, for example — who find this MillsandBoonification of history just as irritating as I do. But I suspect it's probably true that boys, being of a more trainspotterish disposition, more jealous of their facts and their period detail, are more likely to be resistant to Victoria’s ersatz charms than girls."

Despite what critics have to say, especially on the assumption of women's fluffy, escapist trends, when it comes to Queen Victoria herself, she didn’t fulfill the typical female role of her time.

Here are some things you might have not known about the longest ruling female monarch of her time:

She proposed to her husband, Prince Albert Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Unlike many women at the time, Victoria was disenchanted by motherhood. She was open in calling it the "shadow of a marriage."

She was raised by a single mother, and later became a single mother herself after her husband died.

Despite her strength and agency as a leader, Victoria famously opposed feminism. She did, however, believe that women should hold tight to their femininity. She also is said to have had a lot of autonomy in her various romantic escapades.

The era of industrial, cultural, scientific, and military progression in the U.K. is named in her honor.